Infrastructure administrator vs systems administrator

The differences between infrastructure administrators and systems administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an infrastructure administrator and a systems administrator. Additionally, an infrastructure administrator has an average salary of $93,079, which is higher than the $77,156 average annual salary of a systems administrator.

The top three skills for an infrastructure administrator include troubleshoot, linux and windows server. The most important skills for a systems administrator are linux, troubleshoot, and windows server.

Infrastructure administrator vs systems administrator overview

	Infrastructure Administrator	Systems Administrator
Yearly salary	$93,079	$77,156
Hourly rate	$44.75	$37.09
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	100,799	134,500
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

What does an infrastructure administrator do?

Infrastructure administrators are information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for implementing and maintaining the telecommunication and data systems of an organization. These administrators must coordinate the implementations of IT procedures and policies of the organization as well as perform daily monitoring, maintenance, and backups. They are required to assist in network troubleshooting and provide end-user support about their hardware and software problems. Infrastructure administrators must also implement policies regarding security, network usage, and disaster recovery.

What does a systems administrator do?

Systems administrators are employees who oversee information technology infrastructures in the office. They are skilled information technology professionals who are knowledgeable about the company's network systems and other technology-related infrastructures. They are responsible for installing, configuring, or updating network systems, software, and hardware. They also monitor the different systems and troubleshoot any issues that users may encounter. Systems administrators manage the access of users, ensure the security of the network, and address any challenges that users may have. They conduct repairs and routine maintenance to ensure that the systems in place are in the best shape.

Infrastructure administrator vs systems administrator salary

Infrastructure administrators and systems administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Infrastructure Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average salary	$93,079	$77,156
Salary range	Between $66,000 And $129,000	Between $59,000 And $100,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	PayPal	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between infrastructure administrator and systems administrator education

There are a few differences between an infrastructure administrator and a systems administrator in terms of educational background:

	Infrastructure Administrator	Systems Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Infrastructure administrator vs systems administrator demographics

Here are the differences between infrastructure administrators' and systems administrators' demographics:

	Infrastructure Administrator	Systems Administrator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 90.4% Female, 9.6%	Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between infrastructure administrator and systems administrator duties and responsibilities

Infrastructure administrator example responsibilities.

Manage allocate SAN storage and HBA configuration.
Manage, upgrade, and troubleshot ShoreTel VOIP network.
Manage all SSL certificates as well as internal and external DNS services for the organization.
Used SCCM to manage resources, software distribution, inventory, build software packages, and troubleshoot fail installs.
Authore and maintain shell and Perl scripts to automate administration tasks for infrastructure management.
Resolve network issues using DHCP, and DNS.

Systems administrator example responsibilities.

Used Jenkins to automate most of the build relate tasks.
Manage windows file servers, messaging, and SQL databases.
Lead the project which integrate internal DNS into the corporate LDAP infrastructure for end user host management prior to deployment.
Lead business-critical information security initiatives involving encryption of customer data.
Authore and maintain shell and Perl scripts to automate administration tasks for infrastructure management.
Configure & manage all switches and servers responsible for providing WLAN connectivity and authentication services.

Infrastructure administrator vs systems administrator skills

Common infrastructure administrator skills

Troubleshoot, 10%
Linux, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
OS, 4%
PowerShell, 4%
SAN, 4%

Common systems administrator skills

Linux, 7%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Windows Server, 6%
Database, 5%
Technical Support, 4%
PowerShell, 3%

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Infrastructure Administrator vs Systems Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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